From: "N.C. Hastings" Subject: 3.5m Night Log 990625 Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 04:23:24 -0600 Apache Point Observatory, Sunspot, NM Friday, June 25th, 1999 3.5-meter Night Observing Log Actual ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTRONOMER OBSERVER(S) INSTRUMENT DATE START FINISH ---------------------------------------------------------------------- N.Chanover *See Note AOTF 6/25 20:45 21:57 N.Chanover *See Note AOTF 6/25 21:57 22:57 B.Balick *See Note AOTF 6/25-26 22:57 00:40 D.Leeber D.Leeber GrIm II 6/26 01:25 03:40 E.Turner C.Hastings DIS 6/26 03:55 04:10 * N.Chanover(NMSU), J.Hillman(Goddard), & S.Palen(UW) Observation Time Breakdown ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INST SCHEDULED WEATH EQUIP OBS DAY NOTUSED I/RS/DN START FINISH D B D B D B USE D B ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DD02/S 20:57 21:57 - - - - - - 1.0 - - DD02/S 21:57 22:57 - 0 - 0 - 1.0 0 - 0 UW10/S 22:57 01:10 - 1.0 - 0 - 1.2 0 - 0 NM05/R 01:10 03:45 - 0 - 0 - 2.6 0 - 0 UW06/R 03:45 04:15 - 0.5 - 0 - 0 0 - 0 -------------- Activity Log -------------- Observing Specialist: N.C.Hastings The telescope was opened at 19:30 after a afternoon rain shower. I noticed that the mounting plate for the AOTF instrument was installed on the NA2 rotator when I arrived. I know that their is a heat build-up problem with the guider electronics when an instrument is mounted throughout the day. I mentioned this to AOTF in case the heat buildup could be a possible source of noise. They are unsure but I have counterweighted their rack to allow the instrument to remain attached to the NA2 plate when not on the telescope which will allow quicker mounting and unmounting and no need to pre-mount the plate on the NA2 port. We closed the telescope for clouds for about an hour at 23:30 and then opened again. During this time Craig Loomis noticed a strange issue with the echelle temp logs. It appears that the CCD heater has turned off in an attempt to cool the chip further. I called Connie Rockosi and we came to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong at the moment, but we need to keep a close eye on the ion pump gauge to make sure that the vacuum is not compromised. Currently, we think that the chip has been hovering around this for a while and the warm temps today just pushed it over the edge. We expect cooler weather to return the heater current to normal. If anyone is here on Saturday it would be good for them to check the ion pump gauge in the pit rack to make sure it is not running beyond one LED readout. Earlier tonight the light bulb in the STOP button in the 3.5m control room burnt out. While I was working on the echelle I noticed Kurt Anderson trying to fix it. He disassembled the button and eventually replaced the lamp. Soon after I found that we could not slew. It appears that the STOP button is somehow jammed. The lights goes on and off but it is not really off. It is hanging out of the wall right now and is OFF. It will remain that way and I will use other stop buttons until this can be fixed. Near the end of NMSU's run the sky again clouded up thick and I closed early at about 04:10 MST. I also checked the echelle ion gauge and it looked fine. The heater current appears to be picking up again and this hold with Connie's belief that we are seeing the delayed chip regulation due to the temp changes and the large time constant. It is reacting slowly, but appears normal. FOCUS LOG June 25th 1999 Best Telescope Temp Wind Seeing Time Instrmnt Focus Az El Air/Truss Dir MPH filter FWHM" --------------------------------------------------------------------- 21:20 AOTF +160(6473) +263 32 19.3/19.8 237 09 2.295u ?.??" 02:10 GRIM -070(6817) +128 78 17.0/17.1 162 13 f/5-J 1.18" WEATHER LOG June 25th 1999 Wind Time Temp-F Dewp-F MPH Direction Dust Sky Precip ------------------------------------------------------------------ 16:01 75 39 13 305 (NW) 632 Clear None 17:01 70 37 21 252 (WSW) 584 Prtly Cldy None 18:01 65 38 2 67 (ENE) 682 Cloudy Rain 19:01 67 39 4 266 (W) 1513 Mstly Cldy None 20:01 66 37 8 267 (W) 855 Prtly Cldy None 21:01 67 35 6 244 (WSW) 734 Prtly Cldy None 22:01 67 35 6 217 (SW) 681 Prtly Cldy None 23:01 62 43 0 10 (N) 892 Cloudy None 00:01 61 43 5 104 (ESE) 878 Mstly Cldy None 01:01 63 39 14 175 (S) 754 Mstly Cldy None 02:01 63 40 11 179 (S) 665 Mstly Cldy None 03:01 61 42 9 174 (S) 704 Prtly Cldy None 04:01 60 41 4 176 (S) 728 Mstly Cldy None note: the wind was coming from the azimuth listed. The convention used is north=0 degrees, east=90 degrees. The dust count is for the particles > 1 micron per 0.1 cu.ft. TELESCOPE STATUS Primary, secondary, and tertiary mirrors in place and collimated. Primary support system operational. Mirror ventilation system in place. Telescope drives operational. Current Remark version: 2.5.5b5 Current guide software version: GIm Ctrl v3.0b27 - NCH